The Christian Crew

We had a fun trip a bit ago to Anderson Farms, in Erie! We tried our hand as a family, at the big Corn Maze  and it was a challenge. I think we only made it through half the maze too! Coming here brought back Memories of my older childhood and playing in the Maze at Lattin Farms, In Fallon NV! And the History I have with the Wonderful Family that ran this great place.... ( flashback to 1998 or so...) I played Soccer on the Fallon HS team and enjoyed being active. Although, I wasn't the best, I had some great plays and awesome memories with my team mates and coaches. And our team had some pretty cool coaches- Nate Waite and Lance Lattin.  I played a bit on the club team as well so, I can't remember what game it was but, I remember seeing Laura Lee( lances sister) a lot. Her little sister, Leann played on the team as well. Leann was a small girl but, a spirited fighter and a great player and person! One day, while sitting on the side lines during half time, I asked Laur...

I'm not sure if you have noticed when looking at people's adoption profiles or not but, lots of them start off with the Basics on How great of an Option They are and how grateful they are for you looking at their profile, taking time to read their letter, how hard this choice is for the expectant parents and how courageous you( the expectant parents) are etc. The rest of the profiles of some are almost like a beauty contest- Pick Me, We are the typical Ken and Barbie, or We are the Most Fun and we Travel but, what I am seeing is a huge void of  Honest, open, Vulnerability! MANY profiles are wonderfully Open and honest and I LOVE THOSE ONES! Putting your family out for the world to see and to be judged is one of the Hardest things adoptive couples have to do. Not even counting the super nosey evaluations, background checks, credit reports, blood tests, financial records, psychological interview and personal references we have to Endur...

I have heard from many different people that their adoption isn't as open as they were hoping it would/could be. I have heard this from many birth parents and many couples as well. It got me thinking, A LOT and you know what that leads to... A blog post about it!!! I have already posted about the break down in communication and the grief cycle and how we are all flawed people just trying to do our best at this new part of our lives so, I wont repeat myself. But, with all that in mind, let's pretend, we are having good communication with our birth parents or with the adoptive parents and we are feeling open enough with them and we plan our appointments to visit etc. so generally, things are good.  SO, what's left after that? Placement is over, a year or so has passed and you are left with 2 pretty good relationships that are revolved around a child and the adoption, in many cases. This is where things can go one of 2 ways- either the relationship can get strained, pe...

Yesterday,we lost a huge part of our hearts! It is hitting me extra hard b/c we just saw him on Monday! We stopped by for a short visit to see him and Tammy and whoever was roaming around. The kids helped him feed the goats and collect chicken eggs and the whole time my phone was saying" full" so I was trying to delete things to get space on my phone to take pics but, I didn't do it in time. So, we just talked and visited instead of me worrying about it. I can't change the fact that I didn't capture the moment but, I can tell you and share with you many of our special moments... We met Max the day we met Jessica! She was pregnant with "puma" as she called him and we were in his house before he was home. So, he entered his home with a couple of strangers and their 2 girls just hanging out! I am not sure what He thought of us at that moment but, we spent the rest of the evening, just chatting with everyone and checking out the cats, dogs and bunnies....

I can't believe its been 4 years already! I remember this day like it was yesterday!!! Jessica, His gorgeous birth momma!       He is such a SPUNKY boy and his PIRATE PARTY Was Fantastic & fun! Over 60 ppl and loads of kids! Here's a whole bunch of pics to feast yer eyes on!     Lots of GAMES and Challenges!   We had a big potluck after snacks:)   The fish food was the pirate's booty and natural gummy fish:) the play set made a GREAT Ship!   Loads of fun was had by all! Aren't we the coolest pirates ever? Nah, we try though!   So Glad our special boy had a great day! We always have a BIG party for our kiddos. It's not about how many people come or how many presents they get- Its about the amount of FUN they have, no matter the cost/ time/ effort! I believe in Celebrating every moment and the kids are only young once, then its over! So Party On!      

Thus far, has been pretty eventful! I visited 3 hospitals- one to take birth mother and baby pics, one to drop off a gratitude basket to a social worker and one to visit our friends daughter who was getting checked out after a car accident- Everyone is okay and the Car took the brunt of the accident. My friend , Dara, was driving home from the gym and was hit by a drunk driver from behind. The man had a DUI, suspended license,a warrant out and NO Insurance!!!!! What the heck was he thinking??? Emily and i went to D Bar desserts again! The meal and the cake and shake were so scrumptious and we met the owner of another bakery in Nashville- where my sister lives. It's called Crumb de la Crumb! Her and her husband are competing on a Food Network Cake Challenge that was to be filmed 2 days after we met and they were also thinking about adoption! And I sat by an adopted college lady too! She was about 2 years younger than me and knows both her birth parents now! Pretty awesome nigh...

...of opinions don't just run rampant in the WORLD, they are all over the adoption community too. Take today.... I'm in the park and see this cute chinese baby being put into her swing. I look up and her mother is white, which generally leads to adoption ?'s that are always positive and not too intrusive b/c you never know where someone stands. Our conversation led to Brielle's adoption situation and the lady says"I think open adoptions are all about the birth parents- they are uneccessary and there is no REAL study that supports the " this is best for the child" bit! And you know - you can close your adoption at anytime don't you?"I'd never chose that so, we had to go foreign". I cited the ONE study i knew about and said the good and the bad about it but, ultimately- it stated the Obvious...when children know more about their adoptions and things are open- it's not a mystery or a secret...leads to healthier self esteem/ worth...an...

Yep, I'm once again clearing out ALL my supplies and goods from my Boutique business and the last bits of stuff are on my ETSY store . So, if you missed it- you get this last time to check it out. I don't have many things posted at the moment but, You will see the rest of what i have left appear sooner than later. And Honestly, I can't wait till it's all gone. I really did have a ton of supplies that i needed to USE up and re-coup some of what i had invested into it. It was a great 5 years and i had fun but, now it's on to better and more important things! I'm sure i will make all these goodies for our future children and for gifts for others- I'm just done with the business side of it all! Thanks to all who supported me while i was in it though! And snag stuff while I still have it!

makes me so happy and want to cry all at the same time! Getting this for our next child's room for sure! purchase it here!

Is that you get to enjoy LOTS of cuddling! Watch TV shows you don't normally watch... fall asleep where ever and eat whatever you feel like eating ( let's face it- there is stuff that just doesn't sound good when you don't feel good- even if it's healthy for you) Play with your sister all day- make fake invitations to a fake party and experiment with Soda concoctions (B put mini robin's eggs candy in her soda and said she was doing a little science experiment ) and really, when you are coughing all day long- you can't go anywhere so, you get pretty creative. But Best of all you get to take LONG soaks in the tub every day- sometimes twice a day and have BUBBLES every time if you wish! Our tub is their FAV too! I am not feeling so hot either- let's hope this all passing quickly too. My girls have already missed 1.5 weeks of school. Thank goodness it's just preschool and we do a lot of stuff at home. Aria is getting much better at letter recognition...

...life likes to throw you a few curve balls . And I feel like I have a few of them coming at me right now. I have been patient for a long while but, this is the 3rd time one of the girls is sick in 2 weeks. Can't sickness just be gone after one round? I swear i detoxed the house to the point of my fingers cracking already. And our SUV is still in the shop and it's almost been a MONTH. I want to strangle my insurance company . Why are they waiting to release such a measly amount to the repair shop? I'm so fed up and switching from them after they pay up. GRRR! And we are trying to find a new 5 bed or more, home by May and i feel like everything I'm seeing is way too far or way too run down or nice but in a crappy part of town. Sorry for venting on my Sunshines-out-our-rear blog but, reality is what it is and love it or hate it, it's ours! So, Hopefully, We will get our Navigator back by next week and my girls will be done being sick and no major catastrophes...

I remember as a kid on Valentine's Day... My mom would make us pink pancakes or heart pancakes with berries, when we had them. It seemed as though every detail about that day was centered on how much she loved US! When we got home from school we had treats on our beds and nice card or letter. We often made jello jigglers hearts and mom made us something scrumptious for dinner. we'd watch old musicals or some love story type shows like Seven Brides for Seven Brothers or My Funny Valentine or whatever! She always made that day special for us. I never felt unloved by my mother and i don't think i really appreciated how much she really did for us and me until i became a mother! Thanks mom, for being my Valentine my whole young life. You did a great job and sacrificed so much for me to not end up rotten! I may not be a typical model of the perfect LDS/Christian person but, i know where my heart is centered and i know How much God loves me and loves everyone. Christ loves me ...